'Planes' sequel better, but mostly flies under the radar

This image released by Disney shows character Dusty, voiced by Dane Cook, in a scene from "Plans: Fire & Rescue." (AP Photo/Disney)Disney

By Roger MooreMcClatchy Newspapers

July 17, 2014 12:01 AM

WATCH IT"Planes: Fire & Rescue" is directed by Roberts Gannaway and stars the voices of Dane Cook, Ed Harris, Julie Bowen and Teri Hatcher. It runs 1:23 and is rated PG for action and some peril. **

'Planes: Fire & Rescue" is roughly twice as good as its predecessor, "Planes," which was so story-and-laugh starved it would have given "direct-to-video" a bad name. Yes, there was nowhere to go but up.

The sequel's story is about something -- Dusty the racing plane learns to be a S.E.A.T., a Single Engine Ariel Tanker, a firefighting plane. For very young children, it offers animated suspense and lovely and exciting animated aerial footage of planes and helicopters fighting forest fires in the American West.

And adults will catch the increased supply of one-liners, which will zoom right over the heads of kids, especially in the scene set in a planes and cars honky-tonk.

"She left me for a hybrid," a pickup truck moans to the bartender. "I didn't even hear'em coming!"

There's more of a "Thomas the Tank Engine" feel to this sequel, with planes and firetrucks and bulldozers doing the righteous work of dousing pretty convincing animated blazes.

Disney put more of a Pixar imprint on this than the first "Planes," with familiar voices such as John Ratzenberger, Fred Willard and Patrick Warburton fleshing out the cast.

A couple of flight sequences take us over majestic deserts and amber waves of grain -- beautiful animated scenery. Other than that, there's not much to this. But then, you get the impression from all the "Cars" and "Planes" movies that the box office and video rentals are not why Disney made them.

Come Christmas season, that much will be obvious.

WATCH IT

"Planes: Fire & Rescue" is directed by Roberts Gannaway and stars the voices of Dane Cook, Ed Harris, Julie Bowen and Teri Hatcher. It runs 1:23 and is rated PG for action and some peril. **